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Introducing the Merchant’s Guide to Credit Card Processing

Understanding Payments

Introducing the Merchant’s Guide to Credit Card Processing

Now anyone who is looking to get a complete overview of how payment processing works or wants to know what goes into selecting a payment processor can download our comprehensive free guide to Understanding Payments.

By Radu Georgescu on Apr 8, 2019
Best Practices for Card-Not-Present Transactions

Understanding Payments

Best Practices for Card-Not-Present Transactions

There are a few best practices you can follow to help protect your business from inadvertently processing a fraudulent card-not-present transaction and to help protect your business and your customer’s personal information.

By Miranda Russell on Apr 25, 2019
Debunking 6 Myths About Accepting Chip Credit Cards

Understanding Payments

Debunking 6 Myths About Accepting Chip Credit Cards

If you’re new to accepting payments, or if your business operates in a region where swiping cards is still in fashion, then you may have heard some myths or misconceptions about accepting and using EMV enabled cards for payments.

By Chris Reid on May 24, 2019
HelcimHCM_SINGLE_QUOTE_PLACEHOLDERs Culture and Expectations

The Helcim Vlog

Helcim's Culture and Expectations

I believe it is the CEO’s responsibility to set the tone on culture and what expectations for behavior are at the company so that every new hire has a chance to succeed and thrive.

By Nicolas Beique on Jun 2, 2019

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Choosing a Payment Processor

The Top 5 Tricks & Misleading Techniques Used by Credit Card Processors

Many credit card processing companies use sneaky tactics to trick merchants into bad deals. Here are the top five.

By Nicolas Beique on Jun 9, 2016
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Choosing a Payment Processor

The Top 5 Tricks & Misleading Techniques Used by Canadian Credit Card Processors

Be aware that many Canadian payment processors often trick their merchants into bad deals.

By Nicolas Beique on Oct 12, 2016
Card Brands Now Require CVV Security Code

Payments News

Card Brands Now Require CVV Security Code

To help combat the occurrence of fraud, Visa now requires the CVV to obtain transaction authorization for all manually keyed in transactions.

By Radu Georgescu on Sep 27, 2018
Visa Debit

Understanding Payments

How Visa Debit Works in the US vs. Canada

Visa Debit includes the added benefits of credit cards, including purchase protection and the accessibility of online payments, while still allowing consumers to pay for purchases directly from their bank account.

By Zachary Nickerson on Jun 14, 2018
Best Practices for Card-Not-Present Transactions

Understanding Payments

Best Practices for Card-Not-Present Transactions

There are a few best practices you can follow to help protect your business from inadvertently processing a fraudulent card-not-present transaction and to help protect your business and your customer’s personal information.

By Miranda Russell on Apr 25, 2019
Visa and Mastercard Announce Rate Adjustment for January 2019

Payments News

Visa and Mastercard Announce Rate Adjustment for January 2019

Visa and Mastercard have both announced rate adjustments effective January 1, 2019. Visa has announced that their base assessment fee will increase to 0.09% from the current 0.08% and Mastercard has announced a reduction to the Mastercard interchange rates.

By Miranda Russell on Dec 14, 2018
Payment Tools Retail Merchants Often Overlook

Small Business Center

Payment Tools Retail Merchants Often Overlook

With today’s technology, businesses of any size are now able to access innovative tools that used to only be available for large enterprise size businesses with bloated budgets. While you may have just needed to accept card payments initially, there is a whole host of options that are opened up to you once you sign up for a merchant account that can really help you save time.

By Jeff Merkel on Apr 5, 2019
SKUs, UPCs, and PLUs

Small Business Center

Making Sense of a SKU vs. UPC vs. PLU

Product codes are not all equal, the different codes are used to differentiate different product characteristics and are assigned by different organizations depending on the function of the code.

By Miranda Russell on Jul 24, 2018
Understanding Declines for Credit Card Processing

Understanding Payments

Understanding Declines for Credit Card Processing

When a credit card is approved during a transaction, it is the customer’s issuing bank, not the processor or the card network, that is approving the card. Similar to how a transaction is approved, when a credit card is declined, it is typically declined by the cardholder’s issuing bank, as they are the entity that decides the outcome of the transaction.

By Zachary Nickerson on Feb 19, 2019
What is the Difference Between an Acquiring Bank and an Issuing Bank?

Understanding Payments

What is the Difference Between an Acquiring Bank and an Issuing Bank?

Acquiring banks and issuing banks (sometimes referred to as “acquirers” and “issuers,” respectively) are two important institutions in the credit card processing ecosystem.

By Miranda Russell on Feb 14, 2019

The Helcim Blog

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HelcimHCM_SINGLE_QUOTE_PLACEHOLDERs Culture and Expectations

The Helcim Vlog

Helcim's Culture and Expectations

I believe it is the CEO’s responsibility to set the tone on culture and what expectations for behavior are at the company so that every new hire has a chance to succeed and thrive.

By Nicolas Beique on Jun 2, 2019
Debunking 6 Myths About Accepting Chip Credit Cards

Understanding Payments

Debunking 6 Myths About Accepting Chip Credit Cards

If you’re new to accepting payments, or if your business operates in a region where swiping cards is still in fashion, then you may have heard some myths or misconceptions about accepting and using EMV enabled cards for payments.

By Chris Reid on May 24, 2019
Working in Payments is Awesome

The Helcim Vlog

Working in Payments is Awesome

On the surface, you might wonder how working in the payment processing industry could be exciting. Talking about credit and debit cards, Visa and Mastercard, interchange rates and bank reconciliation wouldn’t seem like a very popular conversation at a cocktail party. But I want to scratch past the surface and show how payment companies operate in a unique place in the world of business.

By Nicolas Beique on May 20, 2019
Prevent Card Present Fraud

Understanding Payments

Prevent Card Present Fraud

If you’re regularly accepting credit cards in person, then you can use these tips to help you identify transactions that might be fraudulent and how to respond to them swiftly.

By Miranda Russell on May 17, 2019
How Your Role in a Credit Card Transaction Changes Your Risk

Understanding Payments

How Your Role in a Credit Card Transaction Changes Your Risk

Understanding where the unique risks lie for each entity involved in a transaction can help you better understand the fees you pay as a merchant, the processes - both apparent and hidden - you’re involved in each time you process a credit card, and your business’ general place in how it all works.

By Zachary Nickerson on May 9, 2019
Are Credit Card Signatures Becoming a Thing of the Past?

Payments News

Are Credit Card Signatures Becoming a Thing of the Past?

Amex, Mastercard, and Discover have all stated that merchants can stop requesting signatures as of April 13th, and Visa is expected to follow suit shortly. The change applies to customers in multiple countries depending on the card brand.

By Jeff Merkel on May 3, 2019
Terminal Update Gives US Merchants Lower Debit Processing Rates

Payments News

Terminal Update Gives US Merchants Lower Debit Processing Rates

Helcim’s partner bank Elavon has issued a software update so that when terminals detect a debit card, the terminal will auto-select the debit network.

By Jeff Merkel on Apr 26, 2019
Best Practices for Card-Not-Present Transactions

Understanding Payments

Best Practices for Card-Not-Present Transactions

There are a few best practices you can follow to help protect your business from inadvertently processing a fraudulent card-not-present transaction and to help protect your business and your customer’s personal information.

By Miranda Russell on Apr 25, 2019
End-to-End Encryption for the Payment Industry

Understanding Payments

End-to-End Encryption for the Payment Industry

End-to-end encryption also referred to as E2EE, is a common process for securing communications that are being sent between two different people or companies to help protect the information from being accessed from an unauthorized third party while it’s being transmitted.

By Miranda Russell on Apr 18, 2019
Online Payment Trends for 2019

Small Business Center

Online Payment Trends for 2019

As ecommerce sales continue to increase and customers become more familiar with what a good online customer experience is, it’ll become more important than ever for businesses who are operating in the online space to know what the online payment trends are and how the trends can be adopted by their businesses.

By Chris Reid on Apr 16, 2019